In the dewy dawn, ravenous rodents terrorized my tulips — nibbling the tender shoots to a sad little nub.
I hope you enjoyed your breakfast — Leaves, buds and all. Next time, please stop by the house. I’ll brew you a cup of coffee and introduce you to our four cats (who would probably purr and lick you to death).
Anyone have a good recipe for rabbit?
Argh!
It takes about two months for a for a 1.5-pound Hungarian Heart to reach maturity, but it only takes two seconds for a 1.5-pound squirrel to tear your tomatoes — and your dreams of one last batch of homemade salsa — to shreds.
Like Robyn, I’m just about ready to give up on this growing season. My heart can’t take another partially devoured Hungarian Heart.
I’ve heard that squirrels are actually quite intelligent and learn from their mistakes. But seriously — How many times do you need to bite into a tomato to figure out “Gee, this near-ripe fruit just isn’t as tasty as acorns.”
Grrrr…
From IvanaMarzipan:
Two weeks ago they swarmed me when I was mowing, chased me halfway down the block… flying into me and getting tangled up in my hair. They held my lawnmower ransom until nightfall when I finally ran out and grabbed it after they had calmed down for the night. They seem to recognize me specifically, as they don’t attack my neighbors or people walking by on the sidewalk, but they will attack me no matter where I am, whether it’s in the front of the house or the back.
I don’t want to kill them but they are holding me hostage in my own home! Is there anything I can do to encourage them to move? If not, maybe your readers have a suggestion as to where I can find a fashionable bee-suit to protect myself?
GradientGirl send us this question from the wilds of south Minneapolis:
I just moved into a new house and my new yard features a pretty mature apple tree! However, the apple tree has a few problems. The main one is it started dropping apples like mad, as soon as they appeared and all summer long. Many of them weren’t ready yet. Was it the heat and drought? Is it the fact that the apple tree is shaded by a very sickly-looking pine tree? The other, even bigger problem is squirrels. I have voracious squirrels in my back yard who are constantly shaking apples off the tree, nibbling two bites, and then running off and doing whatever it is that squirrels do. I managed to harvest one, yes ONE apple, and it seems to be a classic pie apple–tart and kinda soft.
What can I do to make my apple tree healthy and save the bountiful harvest from the squirrels?
I don’t know much about apple tress, but I know many of you do. What advice do you have for GradientGirl? Is there a particular resource you would recommend? How do you keep you apples safe until harvest time?
According to Wednesday’s squirrel story by Star Tribune reporter Karen Youso, squirrels are here to stay:
Today, they thrive in near paradise — the mature trees, vegetable gardens and back-yard bird feeders of city and suburban neighborhoods, where the duality of being cute and aggravating produces the obvious results.
Some people love squirrels. They feed them and laugh at their antics, give them names and shoot pictures of them. Others hate them for the destruction they can wreak on house and garden. They’d just like to shoot the varmints, period.
What’s your take — Furry friend or fiendish foe?
Greengirls Jaime Chismar, Connie Nelson, and Robyn Dochterman are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
You can also send your questions, ideas, tips and tricks to greengirls@startribune.com.
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